Limiting freedom

Millions upon millions of Chinese have tolerated government control of their lives for a very long time--forced urbanization, severe birth limits (last two posts), etc. The predicted change in birth policy is just one example of government control that had to be revoked because of negative results.

But there are other examples of government overreach, according to this article. With tepid support for free enterprise and tolerance for socialism, this Bloomberg article nevertheless issues a warning to socialists: some government controls can be a bad idea.

• United Kingdom nationalized whole industries (steel, coal, railroad, electricity, more) after World War II ended in 1945. By the time that Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979, the UK's wealth per capita had fallen below both France and Italy. She privatized industries, and by 1997 the UK caught up to and passed them both.
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• America tried price controls under President Nixon in the 1970's. It led to soaring inflation. By 1974 Americans were suffering scary gasoline shortages.

These case histories "show that it’s possible for well-intentioned democracies . . [to] implement government interventions that almost certainly leave those citizens worse off than before."

(from Bloomberg)